Well, here we are at the end of yet another losing season. I thought that we would go at least 8-8, but I'm surprisingly not really that disappointed. I've come to this realization over the past few weeks: The Lions have a lot of talented players - they just SUCK as a team. (You all should join me - it's very cathartic).

The ONLY people who have consistantly held up their end during the course of the year are Kevin Jones and Eddie Drummond.

Injuries have decimated the Lions this year. But that can't be used as an excuse - the Patriots lost almost half of their roster, and they're going to the playoffs - with a 12-2 record, no less! The difference? They have DEPTH - with the exception of a few positions, the Lions have NONE.

I'm not going to make excuses or defend anyone here, because everything could be negated with the whole "chicken before the egg" theory, but this is how I see it...

1. Joey's biggest problem is inconsistency. He needs to get more comfortable in the pocket, and under pressure, and he must stop checking down so much. That being said, no matter how inconsistent he is, if he gets a catchable ball to someone, they damn well better catch it.

2. Hopefully next season will be better for Roy. I'm sure it's hard to make the adjustment from NCAA to the NFL, so I'm willing to give him a bye this year. That being said, sometimes he seems to really play half-assed. Some days it's like he doesn't even show up for the game. Maybe that can be attributed to his injury, maybe he's tired, I don't know - but I would definitely look for that to stop next season.

3. The drops must stop. Everyone is going to have drops, but ours are at the most inopportune times, and with catchable balls. We have to learn how to hold on to the ball!

4. Our D (and O, too) MUST learn how to play for four quarters. I know it's tiring, but with the running game coming around, the offense will be taking more time off of the clock and they won't have to be out there for so long. We have to consistently stop some plays.

5. WE MUST STOP WITH THE STUPID PENALTIES!!! It seems like every time we get a little momentum going, it's killed with some stupid call that should have been avoided in the first place.

6. The coaching has got to make a change. We are way too conservative here. Mooch needs to stop calling plays that work on principle, and start building a playbook that works with the team that we've got. How many successful coaches keep calling plays that consistently don't work? Not many that I know of. This is perhaps the biggest need in the offseason, aside from bringing in a vet to back Joey up.

Fans are calling for the heads of so many players, especially Joey. It's unfortunate that so many of our games come right down to the last play. That makes it easier to point the finger at that one drive (or player) that "lost the game for us". If one game comes down to the last drive, then you can possibly blame that on a player. If most of the games come down to the last play, then we need to pin that blame where it lies - on the team.

_________________Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try. - Homer Simpson

January 2nd, 2005, 9:10 pm

Pablo

RIP Killer

Joined: August 6th, 2004, 9:21 amPosts: 9589Location: Dallas

That says it all in a nutshell. I agree with just about all of your points. On the positive side, the Lions are much closer to being a playoff contender than they have been in years. They also have most of their key personnel under contract for the next few years - the primes of their careers. They still have a few holes to fill, but FA and the draft to take care of it and continue to add depth.

GO LIONS in 2005!

January 3rd, 2005, 1:24 am

TheRealWags

Modmin Dude

Joined: December 31st, 2004, 9:55 amPosts: 12278

Filling Holes

I think our biggest needs are at S (both) and OL. It would also be nice to get another stud DE to play opposite Hall. If we work on our D in the off season we should be a lot better. Of course we also need a good veteran QB to push Joey and be able to start effectively if he goes down.

_________________

Quote:

Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right....

January 3rd, 2005, 9:55 am

Brian

QB Coach

Joined: August 6th, 2004, 8:33 pmPosts: 3222

I read on another forum that the drops seemed to be Joey's fault, which I don't believe to be true, but they make a good argument. Listen to this...

Quote:

I am not going to make an argument for or against joey, but I do think it is interesting that alexander was considered to have good hands before he came to detroit, and now he can't catch. Roy didn't have problems catching at Texas. Hakim seemed to be able to catch fine in St. Louis. Streets never had this problem either. Why are all these recievers dropping passes in detroit? Maybe it is joey somehow. I have watched the games and think about how I could have caught the passes all the recievers are dropping. They seem to be decent passes. Some people in this forum think the lions need another WR, but another WR that has good hands somewhere else may not translate to having good hands when the ball is thrown by joey harrington. When Roy Williams came to Detroit, everyone said that he could catch anything. Why is he dropping passes now? This is a far out theory, but maybe joey puts some sort of wierd spin on the ball, making it hard to catch. Yes, that is bull crap, but I am simply trying to find some sort answer as to why all of these different recievers are fine before they come to detroit and catch a ball from joey.

Quote:

I totally agree with the comments about Joey throwing a ball that's tough to catch. It seems like sometimes the ball comes out of his hand with the nose of the ball down, which any receiver will tell you, makes it brutal to catch the ball, especially when the ball is low, which seems to be the place the Joey misses most often to me. Guys that have been, or currently are, successful in the WC system all seem to throw a very catchable football, i.e. Steve Young. I really think that Joey needs to work on his accuracy on shorter throws. It seems like the tight ends and running backs are always working hard to haul in screens and other short throws. Hitting these throws in stride is the basis for the Lions whole offensive scheme. The only other problem I have with Joey is the multitude of 3rd down throws well short of the first down. 4-yard completions on 3rd and 7 killed this team all year. Joey needs to be more aggresive and get the ball down field, take some shots, hopefully this will come with some experience and a healthy WR corp.

Your thoughts?

January 3rd, 2005, 10:39 pm

bonitachiquita

Bubbles the Lion

Joined: December 14th, 2004, 10:09 pmPosts: 60Location: USA

Honestly, I don't know. I'm a girl, so I haven't really played football that counts, except for my Senior years' Powder Puff, so I don't know what's easy to catch and what's not. And aside from that, there are very few people who have caught an NFL QB's ball to be able to tell what's hard to catch, and what's not.

Some of the passes that they miss, I don't question. If it is a lower ball, maybe the way that he throws it does make it hard to get to. But if a ball hits you right in the hands, or right inbetween the numbers, I'm sorry, but no matter how that ball is thrown- there's absolutely no reason for not catching it.

I wonder if they have the same problem with the drops in practice? I would tend to think that it may be a concentration problem, because quite frankly, a lot of those guys, especially in recent weeks, don't really look like they're trying all that hard to catch it anyway.

_________________Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try. - Homer Simpson

January 4th, 2005, 9:43 am

spiderman

All State

Joined: August 11th, 2004, 1:38 pmPosts: 367Location: on the web

i've seen all types of passes in the nfl, from ducks (no offense joey) to elways bullets. wide receivers should be able to catch any type of pass. i don't blame joey on the drops, it can't be the "type" of ball that he throws.

joey will be back, he has roy, crog and kj now - let's see if he can make a jump to a better level. in reality, joey started the season pretty well. if he can play like that over the course of next season he will be fine.